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Wendy's Page

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"A beautiful reply, Susan.
Much in the same way our own lives have meaning without needing "eternity" because "we" live on through the legacy we leave behind, your mother lives on through her legacy.
For me,…"

"Hi Wendy,
Just dropping you a hello from another friendly Denverite :)
Amen to you comment "I just couldn't accept that "our" version of God was better than everyone else's. If there really is a God, and he wants us to…"

"Yup. I remember asking a lot of those questions. Like "If Jesus died for all of our sins, why does it matter if we keep sinning?" I was also baffled by the thought of a loving god punishing people who didn't believe…"

"Funny.... my mom used to put Guideposts by the toilet. Yet, I still grew up to be an atheist (despite my Catholic upbringing).
I bet my biology teacher dad is pissed he taught me to think critically and scientifically when it turned me…"

"I have a 2 year old and a 6 month old. So far it hasn't been an issue, but we plan on mostly raising the boys to question everything. We want them to think logically and critically before accepting any particular idea as…"

"I typed up half a page and then I did what I always do when I try to start from the beginning...I deleted it. I'm tried of telling my story and I know it's not fair to those here but every time I tell it I feel like I get a little more…"

"The comments there espousing PRIDE in their hatred of those with different beliefs astounds me. "About time the Christians stand up for themselves..."
I so don't see how NOT saying "Under god" is derogatory. It isn't…"

"I think the key point to your #1 & #2 is that you're not just open to learning, so much as you are willing to critically evaluate your own beliefs. Put that which you hold most dear under extreme scrutiny and see if it makes sense. THAT is…"

"I agree... however, there does still need to be some element of "punishment" for misdeeds. It's very important that, while we can have understanding & empathy for someone's motivation, individuals need to understand that…"

"Hey hey! I'd be more active, but they're not posting much to the twitter feed these days. I need my good discussions spoon-fed to me, damnit :) Besides, why do I need to be active, when you always say what I'm thinking before I get…"

"Reggie, I agree. The only addendum I'd add is that they weren't taught to blindly discard any evidence that contradicts their beliefs. When you're young, the GodDidIt answer is useful in that there's a lot of foundational…"

"You know, I actually appreciate the "So? I'm not" kind of response. She's not trying to say "You should pray!", but that she's sending positive thoughts your way. Kinda like when a little kid writes you a fake…"

I've been "out" with this friend for a while (like, several years). I know he is a believer, but it's usually the deistic sense. He's not a dogmatist, and we tend to just agree to disagree.However, I sent him a link to the atheistclimber blog that Martin Pribble posted. There's an ongoing debate with a creationist there that's actually kinda fun and engaging.Anyway, here's the conversation that ensued with my friend:Him: but stop posting links to atheist websites for me to click! not that…See More

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Occam's Razor. My scientific up bringing (father is a biology teacher) won out over my religious up bringing (father converted to Catholicism, mother is a cradle Catholic).

I just couldn't accept that "our" version of God was better than everyone else's. If there really is a God, and he wants us to worship in a particular way, I'd think he'd be a lot more clear in his message. To do otherwise is setting us up for failure. In all honestly, I wouldn't want to worship a God like that.

Wendy's Blog

To be fair, this is essentially anecdotal evidence about the harm silly beliefs have. It isn't quite as scientific as statistics that show that over X years, vaccination rates dropped by Y, preventable diseases increased by Z, and autism rates changed by... nothing.

But, still, interesting to see the very real damage that irrationally based beliefs cause on actual people:

I'm an IT geek. Right now, I work in a Network Operations Center, basically babysitting servers to make sure they behave. None of my coworkers are idiots.

I brought in my Dawkins - Greatest Show on Earth. I had not one, but TWO of my coworkers get really uncomfortable. One actually has a biology degree, but he has (and I quote) "a real problem with evolution." I didn't press, since that tends to make things awkward. As he left for the day, he said "My problem with evolution is that I… Continue

So, inspired by CaraColeen's post of her old journal, I went and found some of MY old journal entries.

My father (biology teacher/devout Catholic) was very surprised to hear of my budding atheism in the past few years. His memory of me in high school is as a Bible-thumper, youth minister wannabe. He likes to tell himself that I stopped believing because I absorbed my husband's perspective.

Not so. Even when I was very much mired in the depths of religiosity, I had doubt,… Continue

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Amen to you comment "I just couldn't accept that "our" version of God was better than everyone else's. If there really is a God, and he wants us to worship in a particular way, I'd think he'd be a lot more clear in his message. To do otherwise is setting us up for failure. In all honestly, I wouldn't want to worship a God like that."

I think that's wacked that God is all powerful, doesn't give us the power to always to the right thing, (even though he can), and then send us to Hell for screwing up. Even insane people are less sadistic than that.

Hey, just saw here that you are nearing the end of the first trimester for bean sprout number two. Congrats! My wife is right behind you with our first. I also do not anticipate either of us forsaking reason due to the "miracle" of creating babies.